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You're in the Picture
You're in the Picture was a CBS network game show created by Don Lipp & Bob Synes, hosted by Jackie Gleason which aired for only one episode on Friday, January 20, 1961 at 9:30pm (which was the evening of the Inauguration of John F. Kennedy). Gameplay A four-member celebrity panel would stick their heads into a life-sized illustration of a famous scene or song lyric, then take turns asking yes/no questions to Jackie Gleason to try to figure out what scene they were a part of. If the contestants were able to figure out the scene, 100 CARE Packages were donated in their name; if they were stumped, then the packages were donated in Gleason's name. Live music was provided by a Dixieland band (supposedly arranged by Gleason himself, who had some experience in easy listening arrangements outside his television work) under the direction of Norman Leyden. Show Background "You're in the Picture" was an attempt by its host and star Jackie Gleason to "demonstrate versatility" after his success within variety shows and "The Honeymooners." He was joined by Johnny Olson as announcer and Dennis James doing live commercials for sponsor Kellogg's cereals. Technically, the show could be said to have run for two episodes, since the following Friday, Jackie Gleason appeared at the same time, but in a studio "stripped to the brick walls" and using the time to give what Time magazine called an "inspiring post-mortem", asking rhetorically "how it was possible for a group of trained people to put on so big a flop." Time later cited "You're in the Picture" as one piece of evidence that the 1960-61 TV season was the "worst in the thirteen-year history of U.S. network television." Apology The debut of "You're in the Picture" received negative reviews across the board. The following Friday (on January 27), instead of the game, the broadcast consisted of Jackie Gleason sitting in a chair on the now-bare stage and apologizing for the previous week's show. Stating that the series failed because of "the intangibles of show business", he also noted that more than 300 combined years' worth of show business experience had been involved in the production. He also commented that the program "laid, without a doubt, the biggest bomb in history", adding that it "would make the H-Bomb look like a two-inch salute." Acknowledging the critics, he also stated that "You don't have to be Alexander Graham Bell to pick up the phone and find out it's dead." Gleason included some topical remarks in the opening moments of the apology, joking that he had been set to go watch the Los Angeles Open golf tournament, implying that it would've been more enjoyable to watch Arnold Palmer struggle on the 18th hole at Rancho Park where he took a 12 (on January 6, 1961) or that he could've gone on a cruise on a Portuguese ship and been spared from hosting the show, referencing the Santa Maria hijacking (on January 23, 1961). Gleason also told stories of his other flops (adding at one point "I wish I didn't know so much about these things"), and had the John Smith/Pocahontas illustration brought out to show what the format was for those "fortunate enough not to see last week's show". He also fulfilled contractual obligations by incorporating live commercials into the broadcast. He also noted that nobody commented on how the show itself was after it finished airing, instead mentioning how good the commercials were and that the show went off the air at the right time. Gleason ended his commentary with, "I'm coming back next week! I don't know what we're gonna do ... so, take my word for it ... tune in on the next chapter, because this might be the greatest 'soapless' opera you've ever seen!" This comical half-hour apology got much better reviews than the game show, and Gleason finished out his series commitment by renaming the program "The Jackie Gleason Show" and turning it into a talk/interview show, which lasted until March 24, 1961. Shortly after the series commitment was completed, CBS picked up on a more permanent basis another talk/variety program from Gleason, "American Scene Magazine" which would run from 1962 to 1970. However, due to a moment during the apology in which Gleason hinted that the coffee cup he was sipping from wasn't really filled with "coffee" (he called it "Chock Full O'Booze"), the show's original sponsor, Kellogg's, pulled out of the series a week later and publicly claimed, "This isn't the show we bought." They reportedly told CBS executives they were offended by the coffee cup reference and wanted no further association with Gleason or the show after that. However, Liggett & Myers, the show's alternate sponsor, continued with the series until it ended. The supposedly "spiked" cup of coffee was a running gag that Gleason often used as part of the monologue of his variety shows. Category:CBS Shows Category:1960s television shows Category:Game shows Category:1961